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No two chili recipes are the same. Just about everyone who makes this cool-weather favorite likes to put their own spin on it. And some of those are adamant about what chili can and cannot contain.

There are some who use beans, while others abhor the addition. Whether to use tomatoes is another bone of contention among chili aficionados. And there are those like me who love their chili hot and spicy. My specialty is something called 10-alarm chili because it contains at least 10 kinds of peppers.

I like to look at other people’s chili recipes, such as the following that was posted by a Facebook friend, Pam Butala. The rather simple creation takes little time to put together and is made in a bean pot.

As any gardener knows, it won’t be long before it’s time to dig carrots. I like to hold off until we’ve had a hard frost before taking my out of the ground. It’s my contention and that of many others that waiting until the temperature dips well below freezing sweetens the orange beauties.

Well, actually, I already have pulled a few. I sliced some of them in a bean and pasta soup and grated a few more for a meat sauce that we like to put over spaghetti. Both the soup and sauce were quite tasty.

But the rest went into something that by far was one of the best-tasting desserts I’ve ever eaten — a carrot cake that was topped with a cream cheese frosting.

The recipe came from the “Heavenly Recipes” cookbook put out by Calvary Lutheran Church of Grand Forks in 2000. It’s just one of several recipes that we’ve tried in the cookbook, which was given to me by Marilyn Hagerty, former features editor at the Herald, current columnist and member of the Calvary congregation, who helped with the publication.

Here’s the recipe, courtesy of Fran Paulson, Becky Bryson and Ellen Loing, which I’m sure will become a family favorite by any who tries it.

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of a good breakfast. And it’s even more important for kids to have a substantial meal before they head off to school.

The advantages of starting the day with a good meal are well-documented. Among other things, it helps improve brain function and competition as well as aiding in weight loss for those who so desire.

My parents knew importance of a good breakfast when I was a kid. My brothers and I always started our school day off with a fried egg, two pieces of toast and a glass of tomato juice. My dad usually fixed breakfast for us before he went to work, while Mom was busy packing lunches or getting our clothes lined up.

Nowadays, kids and parents are constantly on the go, so breakfast often gets lost in the shuffle. But it shouldn’t be. Here are some quick recipes for those on the go that should have some appeal to the younger generation.

Healthy Breakfast Burrito
1 whole-grain tortilla
1 egg, scrambled
½ cup fresh spinach
¼ cup cooked brown rice
½ cup black or pinto beans
1 ounce shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat tortilla over an open flame or in the microwave so it is easy to fold. Roll up the egg, spinach, rice, beans and cheese in the tortilla. (Leftover cooked meats and vegetables can also be added, if you wish.) Wrap in wax paper, then heat in microwave before leaving the house.
Yield: Serves 1.

Sausage and Egg Muffins
16 slices wheat bread, crusts trimmed
¼ cup butter, melted
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
½ pound sausage meat, cooked and drained
7 eggs
3 cups milk
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 chopped scallions (optional)
1 chopped red bell pepper (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins. Use a rolling pin to roll and flatten the bread slices. Cut into squares or use a pastry cutter to cut circles. Brush the bread slices with butter and use them to line muffin cups, pressing lightly to form a crust.
Set aside ½ cup cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the crumbled sausage in each bread-lined cup.
Whisk the eggs, milk, onion powder and mustard together. Pour the egg mixture into the cups. Add scallions and red peppers, if using. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Cool completely, then store the muffins in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use. Microwave them, and you’re out the door.
Yield: Serves 16.
Note: These can be made the weekend ahead and refrigerated.

Grease the bowl of your slow cooker with butter. Add all ingredients and stir well. Cover and set slow cooker to low. Cook for 8-9 hours. In the morning, stir contents of the slow cooker well; season with butter and brown sugar if needed. Spoon into to-go cups and top with dried fruit, toasted nuts, brown sugar and milk (optional).
Yield: Serves 2 to 4.

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of a good breakfast. And it’s even more important for kids.

The advantages of starting the day with a good meal are well-documented. Among other things, it helps improve brain function and competition as well as aiding in weight loss for those who so desire.

My parents knew importance of a good breakfast when I was a kid. My brothers and I always started our school day off with a fried egg, two pieces of toast and a glass of tomato juice. My dad usually fixed it for us before he went to work, while Mom was busy packing lunches or getting our clothes lined up.

Nowadays, kids and parents are constantly on the go, so breakfast often gets lost in the shuffle. But it shouldn’t be. Here are some quick recipes for those on the go that should have some appeal to the younger generation.

Healthy Breakfast Burrito
1 whole-grain tortilla
1 egg, scrambled
½ cup fresh spinach
¼ cup cooked brown rice
½ cup black or pinto beans
1 ounce shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat tortilla over an open flame or in the microwave so it is easy to fold. Roll up the egg, spinach, rice, beans and cheese in the tortilla. (Leftover cooked meats and vegetables can also be added, if you wish.) Wrap in wax paper, then heat in microwave before leaving the house.
Yield: Serves 1.

Sausage and Egg Muffins
16 slices wheat bread, crusts trimmed
¼ cup butter, melted
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
½ pound sausage meat, cooked and drained
7 eggs
3 cups milk
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 chopped scallions (optional)
1 chopped red bell pepper (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins. Use a rolling pin to roll and flatten the bread slices. Cut into squares or use a pastry cutter to cut circles. Brush the bread slices with butter and use them to line muffin cups, pressing lightly to form a crust.
Set aside ½ cup cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the crumbled sausage in each bread-lined cup.
Whisk the eggs, milk, onion powder and mustard together. Pour the egg mixture into the cups. Add scallions and red peppers, if using. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Cool completely, then store the muffins in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use. Microwave them, and you’re out the door.
Yield: Serves 16.
Note: These can be made the weekend ahead and refrigerated.

Grease the bowl of your slow cooker with butter. Add all ingredients and stir well. Cover and set slow cooker to low. Cook for 8-9 hours. In the morning, stir contents of the slow cooker well; season with butter and brown sugar if needed. Spoon into to-go cups and top with dried fruit, toasted nuts, brown sugar and milk (optional).
Yield: Serves 2 to 4.

One of the late radio TV personality Art Linkletter’s favorite quotes was, “Kids say the darnest things.” In fact, that was the name of a segment of his popular “House Party” show, which ran in the afternoons on CBS in the 1950s and ’60s.

I was reminded of that the other day when a friend of mine, Pete Hougum of Grand Forks, shared a recipe and an anecdote with me.

Pete, who exercises at the gym where I work out, told me about a slow-cooker dish he prepared that contained pork, potatoes, chops, sauerkraut and apples. The recipes sounded pretty good to me, and I shared with Pete that three of the ingredients would be the topic of a “Terrific Trio” column in an upcoming Herald Food page column.

Pete said he was baby-sitting his 3-year-old grandson the day he combined the pork, sauerkraut and apples. His grandson, Landon, was going around the kitchen sniffing and said, “I smell poop.” Of course, that made me laugh aloud, and it reminded me of the kids’ feature on “House Party.”

The next day, Pete said he was digging carrots in his garden and that his grandson’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the vegetables coming out of the ground. When Pete asked Landon where he thought the carrots came from, it elicited another quote worthy of the Linkletter show — “The puppies did it.”

After Pete told me about the aforementioned recipe, I decided that it would worth trying, since we had three pork chops in the freezer that needed to be used. Plus, I really like sauerkraut, potatoes and apples.

I’ve made a few additions to recipe — a can of cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup, a little fresh cabbage, some sauerkraut and a small onion.Slow-Cooker Pork Chops
4 center-cut pork chops, fat removed
1 small onion, diced
1 10¾-ounce can cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 quart sauerkraut
4 small potatoes
3 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all of the ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or until meat and potatoes are fork-tender.
Yield: Serves 4.

Cheese and pasta is a combination that’s hard to beat. It’s hearty, comforting and delicious. Many of us grew up with it. The lucky ones had a mom who made it from scratch, while others had to rely on store-bought mixes such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

I’m still a big fan, so whenever a recipe comes to my attention that features the two, my tastes buds begin to perk up.

Just recently, I came across a tasty-looking recipe in the August-September issue of Taste of Home magazine that contains four kinds of cheese and penne pasta. And with my experiences with Taste of Home recipes being generally quite positive, I’ve decided to give it a try.

And I won’t have to convince my visiting grandson to dig in, either, since he’s as big a fan of mac and cheese, just like most other kids.

Things have changed a lot since I was a kid. And one of the biggest changes has been people’s eating habits.

We probably didn’t have too many meals in which meat wasn’t the star when I was growing up, unless it was a Friday, and on those days, there’s a good chance fish took center stage.

But in these health-conscious times, we rarely have red meat more than once a week, and in some cases, that’s not even the case, since we eat a lot of fowl (chicken and pheasant) as well as fish (both fresh-water and from the ocean).

In fact, some of my favorite meals have been meatless. Consider the lasagna I prepared today. Some people wouldn’t even think twice about a vegetarian version of this Italian favorite, but I believe the recipe that we just sampled was the best lasagna ever to tickle my taste buds.

Probably what made the dish so appealing and delicious in my view was the fact that a good portion of the ingredients were from my garden. The Roasted Vegetable Lasagna contained eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini that I grew as well as parsley from our herb garden.

The only thing that I would remotely resemble a minus was that it’s not the kind of dish you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes. But considering the outcome, that’s something I can accept.

I’ve been a fan of taco salads ever since my first one sometime in the mid-1970s in the old Palace Restaurant in downtown Grand Forks. I was enamored by the hearty salad that came inside a baked taco shell and was served with a generous portion of hot sauce.

I still have a taco salad every once in a while when we go out to eat but generally opt for something a little lighter. And now, I have the option of having one a home.

That’s because Therese gave me two large tortilla shell baking bowls (courtesy of Avon) for our anniversary. The directions for the “perfectly baked shells” says they can be made in less than 10 minutes and after a short cooking-off period are ready to be filled with your favorite cooked meat and vegetables.

I’ve been looking for a good recipe to try with my new bowls and came across the following that turns the fast-food staple into something slimmer and trimmer.

There’s a big difference between fresh herbs and dried ones. Dried herbs are convenient and are good for dishes that require longer cooking times. But they generally don’t have the same purity of flavor as fresh herbs, which is what you want if you’re making pesto.

The key ingredient in pesto is fresh basil, although you can make it with other herbs such as parsley. I generally like to plant some basil in my garden each spring, but this year, it somehow slipped my mind.

Luckily, a friend of mine, Pete Hougum of Grand Forks, had a bumper crop of basil and gave me a large bag of it recently. While a lot of people like to use fresh basil with tomatoes and mozzarella in a Caprese salad, my preference is pesto.

So, you can guess what I did with the basil Pete gave me. I made a two batches of pesto, one with pine nuts and the other with walnuts. Both are quite tasty, especially when spread on a piece of crusty bread such as sourdough (pesto recipe follows).

And for those of you who prefer your basil on a sandwich with tomatoes and mozzarella, here’s a recipe that looks quite satisfying.

A lot of grills get put away with the passage of Labor Day. But there are many people who refuse to hang up their spatulas, tongs and grilling forks until the first snowfall. And then, there are those grill year-round.

Well, hopefully, we’re a at least a month or so away from the first snow of the year, although an old friend, Steve Foss, reported there were flakes in the air today (Sept. 14) up in Ely, Minn. He said there even was a little accumulation on his boat cover.